Thoughts of Good Food

Because of the EColi scare with spinach and lettuce, I've been thinking about growing some here through the fall & winter. The biggest trouble is to keep the dang snails out of it....

I received a letter from Charles this morning, with more information about his hair. sigh It definitely is falling out and his skin seems bad, also. The weather is really rough up there at 14,500 ft. It's very, very cold and dry. I'm sure that the hair and some of the skin is due to diet deficiencies. 50% of Peru's population is malnourished. I keep thinking that Charles needs some good wholewheat bread, piping hot, right out of the oven. Butter and honey dripping down his fingers... It will have to wait until March, though. Then I will do my Motherly duty and fatten him up with nutritious food, oatmeal cookies and milk and warm brownies.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share this recipe with you. It seems positively scrumptious to me this morning, as it's rather overcast today. The temperature in the house reads 66 degrees this morning.


Black Bean Stoup – Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil,
1 large onion,
chopped 3 ribs celery with greens,
chopped 4 cloves garlic,
chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 fresh bay leaf or 1 large dried bay leaf
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans
2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander, Salt and pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons hot sauce, divided ~optional ~
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes ( or fresh tomatoes)

Heat a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to the hot pot, then onion, celery, garlic, jalapeno, and bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, then add red peppers and continue to cook. Drain 2 cans of beans and add them. Use a fork to mash up the beans in the remaining can. Stir the mashed beans into the pot and season with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and 2 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce. Add stock and tomatoes to the soup and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes over low heat. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Ladle up black bean soup and sprinkle with lime juice; top with sour cream and scallions